Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act (FERPA)

Prescott College Policy on Disclosure of Student Records

Prescott College strives to comply fully with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (as amended). This federal law was designated to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, to provide guidelines for the correction of inaccurate or misleading data through informal and formal hearings, and to submit an explanatory statement for inclusion in the education record if the outcome of the hearing is unsatisfactory.

Protection and Disclosure of Student Records

Prescott College accords all the rights under the Act to students who are declared independent. No one outside the College shall have access to, nor will the institution disclose any information from, a student’s records without the prior written consent of the student, except: to persons or organizations providing student financial aid; to accrediting agencies carrying out their accreditation function; to persons in compliance with a judicial order; and to persons in an emergency in order to protect the health or safety of students or other persons. All these exceptions are permitted under the Act.

Education records do not include employment records (except where an enrolled student is employed as a result of his or her status as a student), alumni records, student health records, or records of instructional, administrative, and other personnel which are the sole possession of the maker and are not accessible or revealed to any individual except a temporary substitute.

Within the Prescott College community, only those members, individually or collectively acting in the students’ educational interest, are allowed access to student educational records. These include personnel in the Financial Aid, Business, Admissions, and Registrar’s offices, as well as deans, executive vice president, advisors, and faculty, within the limitations of their need to know.

Directory Information: At its discretion, the College may provide Directory Information in accordance with the provisions of the Act to include:

• student name
• home and local addresses
• email and web site addresses
• all phone numbers
• date and place of birth
• photographs
• fields of study, including competence, breadth, and primary degree/program area
• dates of attendance and full-time/part-time status
• all degrees earned and awards received
• anticipated graduation/completion date
• advisor(s) name(s)
• recently attended previous educational institution(s)
• participation in officially recognized activities

Students may request to withhold Directory Information (“Directory Hold”) by notifying the Office of the Registrar in writing. Directory Holds will be removed from students’ records when they graduate or withdraw from the College.

Right to View and/or Amend Records

Prescott College students have unrestricted access to their own records, and may have copies made of their records at their own expense, except for the following: in cases of outstanding debt to the College; or copies of transcripts from previously attended institutions. Students who believe that their education records contain information that is inaccurate or misleading, or otherwise in violation of their privacy or other rights, may discuss their concerns informally with the Registrar and/or with the academic personnel involved. If the decisions are in agreement with the student’s request, the appropriate records will be amended. If not, students will be informed by the Registrar of their right to file an “academic grievance” which will serve as a formal hearing. See Student Grievance Procedures for details on that process.

Right to File a Complaint

A student alleging College noncompliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act may file a written complaint with the Family Compliance Office:

Family Compliance Office, U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue S.W.
Washington, D.C.
20202-5920
Phone: 1-800-872-5327

Notification

Prescott College informs students about the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act in each term’s enrollment materials.